It All Started With A Paper Heart
by Picoroo
Summary: Kaoru had no idea how a small sticky note would change his life in a way no one could predict /KyouKao/
1. Prologue

**Title**: It All Started With A Paper Heart  
**Author**: Angel  
**Genre**: Romance/Humor/Angst/General  
**Rating**: T  
**Pairing**: Karou/Kyouya  
**Summary**: Kaoru had no idea how a small sticky note would change his life in a way no one could predict  
**Disclaimer**: If I owned Ouran High School Host Club, this would be a reality, and not on Fanfiction, ergo, I don't own anything.

**Author's Notes: **Prologue of my newest multi-chapter story idea, please note that this one won't be continued until Last Twilight has been finished, mainly cause I need to work out the details of the story and also cause I actually need to finish LT . Also trying with a slightly different writing style, to see how it would look :) Yes it's short, but it's only a introduction, so please review and tell me what you think, and if you have any ideas you would like to request to see in the future of this story (cause I haven't actually planned past the first chapter :P) please do tell me and I'll fit them in somehow, somewhere :) Enjoy! :D

* * *

It all started with a paper heart.

Not the kind you would usually find in a romantic book, the sweet little notes overly romantic couples would leave for each other, or even one a shy girl would leave for the one she secretly loved.

No, it was just a sticky note, one that just happened to be in the shape of a heart. The only reason it was used was because he couldn't find any other sticky pads, no matter how deep or long he looked through his bag. In fact, the paper heart that eventually and ultimately brought them together was used for its actual purpose of leaving a sticky note years before the couple had even officially met.

I suppose you could say this isn't your typical love story. To begin with, it wasn't boy meets girl, more boy meets boy, but that's beside the point. It wasn't love at first sight, while there may have been a slight feeling of affection towards the other, it was one of acquaintanceship, friendship at best, that was all. There was no meeting of eyes over a busy classroom. For starters, they weren't even in the same year, much less the same class. Besides it wasn't a class, it was over the school courtyard which was fairly empty, one was sitting under a tree with his brother, the other standing on his own under the cool shade of the canopy that surrounded said courtyard. The former was sketching something in a small sketchbook, glancing up every now and again in the latter's direction. Which is where the meeting of the eyes first happened. Black meeting golden, only for a split second, no more, before they both went back to their business.

Which is where the paper heart begins to make its first appearance.

"Hey, Hikaru," the one sketching mutters, his pink tongue sticking out slightly in concentration.

"What is it Kaoru?" the one called Hikaru asked, his voice laced with boredom.

"Can you get a sticky note out of my bag?"

Hikaru leaned forward slightly, reaching out a hand to fish through his twins bag, searching for the post-it's he always had on him. After a small while of fishing about in the bag, his hand finally grasped the small pad of sticky paper. Taking it out, he couldn't help but smirk at the shape of the pad, not to mention the colour (Hot pink).

Kaoru noticed the smirk out of the corner of his eye, and, scowling, snatched it off him.

"Shut up, I searched for ages for a pad this morning, and that was the only one I could find," he muttered, taking a note off the pad, sticking it over the sketch and scribbling a few words in immaculate curly handwriting, before gently closing the book and sliding it inside his bag.

"You wanna get back to class?" Hikaru asked, grabbing his own bag.

"Not really, it's so boring," Kaoru stood, subtly glancing over to Ohtori Kyouya, who he had seen earlier, finding he was no longer there. "But we'll be in trouble if we're late again."

"I thought you didn't care about getting in trouble."

"I don't, but any more and Mother won't take us to Paris over summer break remember. I kinda want to go this year."

"That's true," Hikaru mused, "alright, let's head back."

* * *

'_They are,_' Kyouya paused, thinking, he knew he had seen the first year twins before at a few events his family had been to before, and had probably been introduced, they were hardly a pair one could forget easily, '_Hitachiin twins, Kaoru and Hikaru,'_ he thought, analysing how profitable it would be to make connections to the family. This was something he did almost constantly, always looking for new connections, seeing how he could make his family's company more profitable when he took over, whether by inheritance or by force.

But he couldn't help but notice the twist in his stomach when the younger of the two, not that you would know which was which without careful examination, glanced his direction and their eyes met, dark meeting light, before the redhead looked away, a faint blush dusting his cheeks, barely noticeable from this distance. Kyouya ignored the feeling in his stomach, he knew better than to let emotions get the better of him. Besides, the twins were a year below him, he would probably never speak to them unless his family did direct business with them.

Closing the black notebook he had open in one hand with a snap, Kyouya sighed deeply, making the decision to head back to class for the afternoon, the bell was about to ring anyway. He stole one last glance at the twins, who seemed to be packing up and heading back themselves, before pushing open a door and stepping into the inside hallway that led to his classroom.


	2. Fairy Tales

It was a crisp January afternoon when the memory of that particular lunch break came back to him. It was so sudden, so unexpected, that it came as a bit of a shock to the young redhead.

Scratch that...

A big shock.

So much so he faltered in his usually flawless act with Hikaru.

"Kaoru?" the older twin asked, jolting him out of his thoughts and making him very suddenly aware of their, rather expectant, audience. Blinking a few times, Kaoru looked up into a pair of identical golden eyes, feeling a pair of familiar hands lightly touching his cheek and neck.

"Oh...yeah, I just," he paused, working out a way to word it, "fell into a memory," he explained, averting his eyes at just the right moment to let the girls make their own decisions. Unintentionally, he found that his gaze fell on none other than Kyouya Ootori. He blinked, shocked, falling once again out of his character of 'loving brother no.2' for a moment, before Hikaru dragged him back.

"Ah, you're enjoying the memory of last night, hmmm?" Hikaru purred in his ear, quietly, but loud enough for the girls to hear. The barely suppressed squeals of said girls sparked the mischief in the older brother's eyes, and he smirked, if only for a moment. "Don't worry dear brother, we'll be alone soon."

The girls looked just about ready to explode, and that's just what they did when they saw the shiver wrack the younger twins body.

"KYAA!"

Kaoru almost jumped at the sound, he was so lost in his own thoughts. The shiver had not been due to Hikaru's low voice in his ear. Oh no, it had been because Kyouya had looked his way, and their eyes met for a moment, before the second year moved ever so slightly and the light reflected off his glasses. The look was just like that one all those years ago, cold, calculating, but that hint of warmth and something else he couldn't quite place that showed he was human, and not a robot like so many assume.

Once the girls had gone home and they were packing up Hikaru confronted him.

"You alright?" he asked, pulling the younger back down when he moved to get up off the couch they had been occupying all afternoon. "You seem a bit spaced out today."

"Yeah, I'm okay, just got a lot of things on my mind is all," Kaoru replied, giving a weak smile, attempting to stand fully, but was dragged down once more.

"You _can_ tell me anything you know?" Hikaru looked serious, like his brother didn't already know this little fact.

"I know," Kaoru smiled properly this time, letting out a little laugh, "we always do, now can you excuse me a moment, I need to go see Kyouya-Sempai about something."

"Yeah, yeah, sure," his twin replied, rolling his eyes and smirking, like he knew some dirty little secret. Which he didn't. He just liked annoying his brother every now and again, and was rather put out when it didn't work and he didn't notice, just walked off without a second glance.

"Hey, Kyouya-sempai," Kaoru said, alerting the older boy of his presence. Said boy looked up, expressionless, though his eyes were questioning. "Ah, I wanted to talk to you about the next theme the host club is putting on, the Boss said something about Western fairy tales, and I was wondering about costumes, since I'm making this time round and I don't want a repeat of last time." Last time being when Tamaki told him last minute (i.e. a week before, which is a very short amount of time to make seven costumes) and he ended up falling asleep on the day because he had to pull several all nighters just to get them done in time.

There was a short silence before Kyouya gave his reply.

"Yes, I believe you already have measurements for everyone, correct?" Kaoru nodded, he had done those recently for the last event, "good, we need to discuss characters for everyone, I think they'll just go with whatever they're given, so shall we meet up soon to sort those out? I have a meeting tonight, so how about this Saturday?"

Kaoru wavered for a moment, before regaining his composure. "Sure, Saturday sounds great, but won't Tamaki-Sempai want a say in it?"

Kyouya smirked a little. "Yes, but he's not getting a say, he'll just throw in a stupid suggestion that we won't want but have to go along with anyway, so he's staying out of this one." Kaoru nodded, seeing the logic in the argument.

"Fair enough, do you want to come round ours? We can sort everything out in the atelier, that way I can pick out materials as we go." Kaoru tried to make sure his voice didn't shake. Everyone knew how cold the Shadow king could be, and how dangerous if messed with, just talking to him, even if they had known each other for over two years, was still a little scary, if only a little.

"Alright, I'll be over sometime in the afternoon," Kyouya said, heading towards the door, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Ah, yes, see you Sempai," Kaoru replied, starting a little. He really was out of it today.

Shaking his head to clear it, the younger twin wandered back over to his brother, who was joking around with Haruhi. Hikaru slung an arm around his neck in a one armed hug, grinning, and Kaoru couldn't help but grin back, enjoying the feeling of the familiar arm around his neck. They had been growing apart, it was true, and that was what he wanted, but he did miss the little moments like this that were becoming rarer and rarer.

"Well, I need to head off," Haruhi muttered, grabbing her bag and starting towards the door.

"Hey wait up!" Hikaru called, grabbing his own bag and running after her, leaving Kaoru standing there on his own, his expression hurt and understanding at the same time.

"Oh," was all the younger Hitachiin could say as he watched his twin ruffle Haruhi's hair in a playful manner as they walked out the door.

Kyouya, having been held up by Tamaki whining about something or other, watched this with analytical eyes, taking in every detail, as he had been trained to by his family. Of course, he had also been trained to keep his emotions chained up, to keep his mind free of all emotion that could make him seem weak, and yet...when he saw the expression on Kaoru's face, he couldn't help but feel his heart go out to the boy.

Shaking his head and pushing his emotions aside, he walked out the door without a second glance.

* * *

That Saturday Kaoru woke up early.

5:30am to be precise.

Not because he was thinking about Kyouya coming round. Nope, not at all.

Actually, it was because Hikaru had pushed him out of bed, again, and he landed on the floor with a loud thump and a sickening 'crack' that made a shiver run down the younger's spine, despite having been shocked into the world of the living and still having a slight drowsiness clouding his mind, but the sharp pain blossoming in his shoulder soon got rid of that.

Groaning, he pushed himself up, favouring his right arm. Once upright he tested his left arm, rotating his shoulder and lifting his arm. Thankfully nothing was broken or dislocated, though the definite pain from where he hit the ground made him feel otherwise. Looking over the top of the bed he glowered at his sleeping brother, who was sprawled out across both beds. With a death glare that could've scared a Marine, Kaoru pushed himself up, standing with both hands on his hips and tapping his foot, trying to figure out the best way of getting revenge.

Well, it was the third time that week it had happened.

Nodding to himself, he, got up on the bed, braced his feet behind him, and shoved Hikaru off the bed, hearing him land with a satisfying 'THUMP' and yell.

"Ow!" Hikaru cried out, attempting to untangle himself from his sheets in his still partially sleepy state. He looked up seeing his younger brother smirking down at him. "What the hell Kaoru?" He exclaimed, finally freeing himself from the bed sheets.

"You just booted me out of bed for the third time this week, it's 5:30 in the morning, and I wasn't planning on being up 'til ten," Kaoru explained, glaring as his brother got up, "I'm not gonna sleep now cause I think the fall did something to my shoulder and it hurts like hell, so I figure you should suffer the same torture."

"What?" Hikaru said, looking horror-struck, dropping down to sit on the edge of the bed. "Why me?" he muttered to himself, scowling.

"Cause I've had to go through it three times this week, so now you're up we might as well go get breakfast and I need some ice for my shoulder." And with that, he eased himself off the bed, once again favouring his right arm. "You're just lucky I can still move it, need to make all the costumes for the next cosplay," he murmured, testing it out, moving it up and down, before pushing himself up and towards the door.

Hikaru couldn't help but wince when he saw the dark bruise forming on his little brother's left shoulder.

Two hours later; and it was only half seven, Hikaru kept whining that it felt like it should be later and that he wanted to go back to bed because he was tired.

Kaoru's Response?

Shoving him in a cold shower.

"That should wake you up," he said, smirking from ear to ear.

He had though, made it up to him a little, once Hikaru was out of the shower and downstairs in the living room watching some terrible T.V. show, still scowling about the whole shower incident. Kaoru had wondered in and plonked himself down on the plush leather sofa next to him, a smile; not a smirk, clear on his face, a maid following pushing a trolley with two plates of a full English cooked breakfast, their favourite breakfast, and something they rarely had time for anymore (usually because they were never up before lunchtime on a weekend, and had little time to eat breakfast on a school day).

Hikaru had simply gaped, practically tackle hugged his brother, then promptly inhaled the breakfast.

With a satisfied smile, Hikaru propped his feet up on the coffee table, putting his hands behind his head.

"So, you still up for going out this afternoon?" He asked.

Kaoru started, he was so deep in thought, still eating, and the sudden question made him jump.

"Going out? Since when?" He asked, shocked. They had organised something?

"Since Thursday, remember, we were walking out the clubroom, and I asked you and Haruhi if you wanted to go out on Saturday, and you both agreed. Don't you remember?"

Kaoru sighed, putting down the forkful of food he was about to put in his mouth. "Hikaru, you left me behind in the clubroom on Thursday, I wasn't walking behind you the whole way, I only caught up when you were nearly at the car. You didn't notice?"

"No, you must have been there, I heard you agree to the plans," Hikaru looked extremely confused.

"Nope, you must have been hearing things," Kaoru mused, raising his eyebrows, "besides, I've already made plans this afternoon. Kyouya-Sempai's coming over to discuss the plans and costumes for the next cosplay. Why would I make plans with Kyouya then agree to something else on the same day?"

"Well I don't know! So I guess you're not coming? Ah well, I suppose it'll be just me and Haruhi then," Hikaru said, a small smile replacing the confusion. Kaoru put his plate down with a small frown.

"Well don't act too cut up about it then," he muttered, pushing himself up and off the sofa with a smirk, which quickly turned into a frown at the lack of reaction from his brother, who simply leaned across to grab the TV Remote from the coffee table. Kaoru rolled his eyes and left the room, going upstairs to get ready.

* * *

"Here we go," Kaoru said a few hours later, dropping a pile of books on the table, throwing up a cloud of dust. He and Kyouya were sitting in the Atelier, going through plans for the next cosplay at the club. He coughed as he breathed in the dust. "As you can probably tell, me and Hikaru didn't particularly like fairy tales when we were younger, they've been gathering dust for well over ten years," the redhead said with a small chuckle.

"That surprises me actually, I would have thought you would have liked stories like these. Particularly the Grimm tales," Kyouya said, picking the first dusty book off the pile, flicking though the slightly yellowed pages, "they were quite gruesome."

Kaoru laughed, taking the next book off the pile, '_Alice in Wonderland'. "_So I've heard, but I suppose it just didn't appeal to us in that way, we were out making mischief and stories of our own. We never really bothered reading, it got dull quite quickly."

"Yes, we all know how you two can get when you're bored. Now, about characters, I'm thinking 'Little Red Riding Hood' for either Hunny-Sempai and Mori-Sempai, or You and Hikaru," Kyouya said, putting the book down on the table, open on the page of the story.

"We'll see what others we can find, there may be another that is better suited to one or the other. I definitely think 'Alice in Wonderland, but I'm not sure who, maybe Haruhi?"

"Hikaru and Tamaki would have a field day at that," Kyouya said, rolling his eyes.

"But who would we cast you as?" Kaoru mused quietly to himself, flicking through the books, "perhaps we could pair you up with someone for the day and you could play one of the handsome princes that seem to be in most of these stories.

"You do realise there will be murder if you even think about pairing me with Tamaki," he paused, "It'll probably be him, but you'll definitely be moving higher on the hit list," he finished, sounding deadly serious, and Kaoru couldn't help but wonder if he actually was. The redhead gulped, sliding down his chair slightly and hiding behind the book.

Silence fell for a few minutes as their pair flicked through books, reading the short stories and skimming the longer ones.

During this silence, Kaoru took a peek over the top of his book at the dark-haired boy, his thoughts wandering. Did he ever smile? At least properly. Looking back on it, Kaoru could recall very few times he'd seen Kyouya with a true smile. Always cold and calculating, or just simply fake.

It took some time, but they eventually picked a character for each of the Club. The twins were to play Hansel and Gretel, Hunny and Mori 'Little Red Riding Hood' with Mori as the Wolf. Haruhi would be playing Alice from 'Alice in Wonderland' with Tamaki as the Mad Hatter. Unfortunately, they had yet to find a character for Kyouya to play.

"How about we just dress you up as a prince from 'Snow White' or 'Sleeping Beauty' and you can just say you're still looking for your princess?" Kaoru suggested, throwing down the last book with a deep sigh. He had never realised the older boy would be so difficult.

"I suppose it'll have to do," Kyouya gave in, gently placing his book on top of the pile.

"Finally!" Kaoru breathed, getting up to grab pencils and paper to begin his designs.

It was several hours later that they finished their planning and designs. The pair had worked out a way to modernize the original designs, making them slightly more appealing and less old fashioned.

Standing at the door, watching Kyouya climb into his limo, Kaoru noticed with a start what time of day it was. The sun was almost set, casting a brilliant orange and pink hue across the Western sky. The redhead looked down at his watch. 5:00pm. And if Kyouya had come over at lunchtime, about twelve, then they had been working for five hours.

And not _once_ during that five hours did Kaoru see Kyouya smile.

Closing the door and leaning against it, staring at the floor, the young redhead found himself coming to a decision.

He didn't know where it came from, nor did he recall consciously coming to that decision, but it was there nonetheless.

Even if it was the last thing he did, he would make Kyouya truly smile. And he would make sure it was because of _him_.

* * *

**A/N: Well, here you go, chapter one! :D Thank you everyone who reviewed the first chapter, despite how short it was. I'm trying to make the chapters longer, but that will mean longer waits between updates :/ Either way, I'm really looking forward to continuing writing this. And if you were one of those who enjoyed my other story for Bleach, 'Last Twilight', you may be happy to know I'm not completely giving up on the fandom, as more oneshots from the LT Universe will be coming when I have the time and inspiration to write them :) But in the meantime, keep reading and reviewing this one. Especially the reviewing part, those messages are what gets me through the day...Okay, so maybe not that much, but they mean a lot and give me the inspiration and motivation to keep writing. Also if you find any constructive Critisism, please do tell me, I love to improve my writing in any way, so it would be a great help and greatly appreciated :)**


	3. Stage One Complete

The next week went by in a blur. Kaoru tried as hard as he could to make the dark-haired second year smile. He tried everything, from some of the funniest jokes in his repertoire, to some pretty extreme pranks on their host king, with help from his wonderful brother of course. But nothing seemed to work.

Sure he'd managed to get a smirk out of him during some of their pranks, mainly because they involved Tamaki in one way or another, and often shut the blonde up, but it wasn't what Kaoru wanted. The smirk didn't reach the older boy's eyes, and when it did, it wasn't out of happiness, but more evil smugness.

Flopping ungracefully down on a sofa after club the young redhead let out a deep sigh, glaring a hole in the wall ahead of him.

Why wasn't this working? He had pulled off some of his most hysterical ideas to date, and hadn't got any more than a freaking smirk from the older boy.

Scowling deeply and lost in his thoughts, Kaoru didn't notice another body sit down gingerly on the sofa next to him until they put a hand on his shoulder, effectively startling him out of his musings as he snapped his head around with a deer-caught-in-headlights expression.

Haruhi jumped a little at his reaction, pulling her hand away quickly, eyes wide.

"S-sorry," she stuttered, a little nervously, "you were just glaring at the wall like you wanted to burn a hole in it or something. I was just wondering what you're so mad about?" she asked with a small, slightly worried, smirk, gaining back her usual confidence after the small scare.

"Oh, sorry, I was just thinking about certain annoyances recently," Kaoru explained, his thoughts returning to his troubles, the frown reappearing on his face, "have you ever seen Kyouya-sempai smile?" He asked, his gaze falling to the floor.

"Sure, plenty of times, why?"

"No, I mean a proper smile, one that reaches his eyes, where he's actually _happy_!" Kaoru couldn't help but growl the last part out, twisting his body so he was sitting cross-legged on the couch, facing the cross-dresser.

"Oh," Haruhi said, pausing to think. The pause became longer and longer as the brunette thought hard, shifting through all her memories, and, to her surprise, came up with nothing. "huh, I can't think of anything. I'm sure he does though, everyone has something that makes them happy. We're just going to have to do a little research," Haruhi said, a small smile of her own on her face.

"I suppose you're right," He sighed, head dropping. Suddenly, it snapped back up again, wide-eyed, "did you say 'we'?"

Haruhi's smile widened. "It's a good cause, and it'll be nice to see him smile properly. I'll help as much as I can."

Kaoru stared, astonished, for a long moment, before his face split into a grin and he launched himself forward, swamping the smaller girl in a tight hug. "ThankyouThankyouThankyou! I don't think I can do this on my own. I'm good at the funny stuff, but I've only ever had Hikaru, and we always used pranks to cheer each other up. He's not so good at the sensitive stuff, as I'm sure you've noticed."

Haruhi cut him off there, hugging him back briefly before squirming out of his grasp. "Yeah, I get what you mean. So, I suppose we're gonna need a battle plan?" she asked with a small smirk.

* * *

"So you've tried being funny, but that doesn't seem to work," Haruhi was saying a couple of hours later. The pair were sat in the Hitachiin's main living room, both curled up at either ends of the sofa, looking at the other over a steaming mug of coffee. "So we can rule out Kyouya having a funny bone."

"Oh he has one all right," Kaoru muttered, then, upon seeing the brunettes confused expression, "it's just a sadistic one. And although we torture Tamaki on a almost daily basis, I don't think that's the kind of thing that makes him laugh."

Haruhi couldn't help but chuckle at the thought, this was true. Despite how annoying the blonde could be, she knew Kyouya cared about him, they were best friends after all.

Wait.

"What about Tamaki? He's been friends with Kyouya longer than the rest of us, surely he'll know."

Kaoru looked as if she had just asked him to search for his answers in a dumpster.

"You are kidding right?" He monotoned, raising an eyebrow in question.

"I don't see why not," Haruhi said, taking a sip of her coffee.

"For starters, he'll probably spill our plans to Kyouya, effectively ruining everything," Kaoru started, a bitter smile forming on his face, obviously remembering a time when that had happened before, "secondly, he'll probably try and do something to help, or try and turn this into a game or contest of sorts. Which I would usually be all for, but I want that smile to be because of me, not some stupid game."

Haruhi couldn't help but smile at that. '_He couldn't be falling for...could he?'_ she shook her head, '_nah, they're just friends.'_

"And thirdly," Kaoru continued, not noticing the now rather obvious smirk forming on his companions face, "it's _Tamaki_."

The smirk quickly fell off her face at the implications of that simple, stressed name. He had a point.

"Alright, so we scratch out asking Tamaki," she said, nodding in agreement, "any other ideas?" The pair fell silent for a long moment, interrupted finally by Yuzuha Hitachiin who came in with a plate of cupcakes, smiling widely as she sat down in between them and set the plate down on her lap.

"Hello you two, what're you talking about?" she asked, offering the plate to Haruhi, who gratefully took a carefully decorated cake, "it's rare I see either of you here without Hikaru."

"How to get Kyouya-sempai to actually smile," Kaoru moaned, happily taking a cake and biting into it.

"Kyouya Ootori?" they both nodded, mouths full of cake, "but I always see him smiling," she said, her voice laced with confusion, "such a polite boy."

"It's not a real smile though mother, it's always so fake and I hate it," Kaoru clenched his fist, closing his eyes, "I want to make him smile, but he's so stubborn and hard-hearted we don't know how to do it." He sighed, opening his eyes to stare thoughtfully into his half empty coffee cup.

"Have you thought about simply becoming his friend," Yuzuha suggested, "Get him to trust you, and hopefully he'll open up, and he'll smile for you."

Kaoru froze, the rest of his cake halfway to his mouth. "Didn't think of that," he muttered, his face a mixture of happiness and annoyance. "But how? He doesn't let anyone get close to him, it's virtually impossible."

"Not really," Yuzuha told him, smiling softly, "Find out what he likes and dislikes, and not just the artificial things he puts on for the host club and everyone, outside of work and school, what does he like to do, or would like to do. Find a way to share interests. Your planning the next club cosplay with him right?" Kaoru nodded, thinking hard, "use that time wisely, find a way to connect, listen to what he has to say, and don't always talk about yourself unless he asks."

Kaoru's mind was buzzing. Of course! It's like with Tamaki, the blonde somehow found a way to get Kyouya to trust him and open up to him, and that's how they became friends. But how could he connect with the older boy? They had little in common, save the host club. At least, nothing he knew of. Frowning, he put his coffee mug down. How could he do this? Just start a conversation? He was usually good at that, so confident at just throwing himself into conversation, or starting one with a complete stranger, or one of the girls at the host club. So why couldn't he think of anything he could say to Kyouya? And why did he feel so nervous at the thought of it?

"Just a suggestion," Yuzuha said, smiling softly and pushing herself up gently, "think about it."

Kaoru stayed silent, staring into space, or more accurately, Haruhi's socks. Which were mismatched and surprisingly brightly coloured.

"Kaoru?" Haruhi asked, after a long while of silence and sock-staring, "are you okay?" Her eyebrows raised in question as a wide smile began to appear on his face.

"I think I have a plan," he said simply, looking up into her wide brown eyes his grin threatening to split his face in two.

* * *

It was Thursday of the next week before he could get round to executing that plan, and if asked he would blame school work.

He wasn't nervous. Not at all.

'_Right. Here goes nothing'_

Kaoru took a deep breath, calming his nerves and settling the butterflies that had risen up in his stomach. He didn't even know why he was so nervous. He'd known Kyouya for nearly two years now, and he'd always been confident enough around him. Always able to keep a straight mind and be his usual mischievous self.

But then, all those times Hikaru was with him.

He stole a glance at his brother, who was currently locked in a heated argument with Tamaki over Haruhi, who was patiently sitting on a couch sipping her Jasmine Tea, trying desperately not to snap at them both. She caught Kaoru's eye from across the room and shot him an encouraging smile, nodding to tell him that 'you can do this' without words.

He took another calming breath and ignored the fact that Hikaru and Tamaki were now arguing over whether Haruhi liked Kaoru more than them, though he knew he was going to get a lecture about it sooner or later. Standing up, he strode over to where Kyouya was balancing the accounts before he could lose his nerve.

"H-hey," he said, trying to act confident, but stuttering just a little. Kyouya looked up at him as a sign he had heard the boy, the light reflecting off his glasses and hiding his eyes. Kaoru took this as a sign to continue talking. "I was just wondering if you would be free to help me study at some point. I'm really struggling with math at the moment and you're the best person I know to ask," he trailed off, realising he was babbling a little, and watched the dark-haired boy for a reaction as he sat gingerly on the edge of the sofa next to him.

If he could see the older boy's eyes, he may have noticed the flicker of emotion, that hint of pride, that he had been the person the redhead had come to, and, though he would deny it if anyone asked, a tiny trace of happiness. But only miniscule, and it certainly did not show on his face.

Kaoru, waiting for an answer, cocked his head, trying not to look too suspicious as he tried to find an angle that allowed him a view of the older boy's dark eyes.

Kyouya sighed, nodding slowly, finding it hard not to smile in return to Kaoru's growing grin. "I suppose I could find a time to help you out," he paused, looking back down at his work, "but it will probably cost you."

"Seriously?" Kaoru's face fell into one of horror at the thought of the torture Kyouya could easily put him through in exchange for most likely wasting his time. "What kind of price are we talking about here?" he asked nervously, fiddling anxiously with the hem of his jacket.

"That all depends on how much of my time tutoring you will take," Kyouya told him smoothly, not looking up, continuing to punch numbers into his calculator and write down the answers in his notebook, "I have something in mind, but are you willing to take the risk?"

"Yes," Kaoru answered immediately, though in his mind he was screaming 'NO' in absolute panic. "Mine or yours?"

"Mine, Saturday afternoon, one o'clock."

Kaoru nodded, though his mind was yelling at him to back out now, but he couldn't, not now. Not only could this help his case, he genuinely did need serious help in his maths class, or he was almost guaranteed to fail. Whatever Kyouya had planned for him he was sure he could take. He had done some pretty outlandish things with and without the host club in his time. Even if it was doing work for the elder, he could take it. He'll just drag Hikaru along with him. Or Haruhi, since she was his partner in crime so to speak. Maybe he could convince Kyouya to take it out of her debt in return.

"Alright then," he said with a confident (sort of, it was a little shaky) smile as he pushed himself up, "I'll see you later then." And with that he walked with a quick pace to where Haruhi was sitting.

She was watching with a mixture of amusement and exasperation as the argument between Tamaki and Hikaru began to escalate, becoming more physical. But more the bickering schoolgirls in the playground type, with hair pulling and poorly aimed slapping.

Kaoru couldn't help but chuckle weakly as he sat down next to her.

"I would break them up if it wasn't so funny," he commented light-heartedly, rolling his eyes. Haruhi laughed, putting her empty cup of tea down on the low table in front of them.

"So, how'd it go?" she asked with a teasing smile.

"Well, he said yes, but I have to go through some form of torture after it's over, depending on how much of his precious time I take up," he explained with a smile, which then quickly dropped, "I'm usually so confident though, I don't know why that turned me into a puddle of quivering jelly. Perhaps it's because I was on my own, I'm usually with Hikaru."

"And perhaps that's the thing that will help you complete your task successfully," Haruhi told him with a smile, "you're different on your own. Maybe not as confident or outspoken, but you are easier to talk to, more compassionate and thoughtful of other people. It's a nice difference. But I love your craziness with Hikaru all the same." She gave him a little grin, which he couldn't help but return.

It was then they realised silence had fallen over the bickering girls and the pair on the couch turned to see them glaring in their direction.

Rolling his eyes, Kaoru grabbed his bag and stood up, throwing a grateful smile to Haruhi. "Hurry up and put them both out of their misery before it drives us all insane," he told her with a cheeky smile, receiving a laugh in return, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you," Haruhi returned with a smile.

"Come on Hikaru," Kaoru called over his shoulder, "I want to go home."

"Go on ahead, I'll catch up," Hikaru said, throwing his brother a quick smile before dragging Tamaki off out of earshot, whispering madly.

Kaoru's eyebrow's furrowed in confusion and suspicion for a moment, before shrugging it off and leaving the room, saying a quick goodbye to Hunny and Mori on the way out.

Haruhi on the other hand wasn't so quick to brush off her suspicion, narrowing her eyes and listening hard, trying to work out what the two were scheming this time.

Everyone thought she was oblivious, but she noticed the pairs so-called affection towards her, no matter how many times they denied it. She just wasn't ready for any kind of relationship yet. Not until she was absolutely sure about her own feelings. Which were apprehensive at the moment. They obviously were planning something about Kaoru, particularly about her relationship with him. Though by the glances they were shooting in her direction and the door Kaoru had just left through, she was beginning to worry for Kaoru's safety. Or at least his sanity, as she begun to wonder whether Hikaru would actually do anything, he did seem to be shaking his head a lot, and judging by Tamaki's face, turning down a lot of his ideas. After all, this was his darling brother they were talking about.

Whatever the case, she would have to keep a close eye on the pair for a little while, and stress that in no way was she romantically interested in the younger of the twins, however lovely he may be on his own.

* * *

**A/N: Hi there! :D *Hides* I'm sorry for this being sooo so so so late. I've just had so much to do, between the end of year rush for college coursework, getting a new job and actually having some sort of a social life. I've barely had any time to write, so this may seem a bit choppy and rushed towards the end, but here it is! I've kind of forgotten where this is going to be honest, I had a plan, but that plan is now lost somewhere in the depths of the piles and piles of paper and notebooks I have in my room. I have a vague idea of the storyline, but if anyone has any suggestions I'm all ears :) just drop a review or PM :D**


	4. Fashion Shows and Long Talks

"So you times x by 4, which is 4x, then 6 by 4, which would be 24. Finally add the two together to make 4x+24."

"Right, I think I get that."

"Give it a go on some of the questions here, I'll go get the maids to bring us some drinks."

Kaoru sighed, he really hated maths. He was currently sitting in Kyouya's light and spacious room, at a low table, cross-legged on the floor. He placed his head in his hand and started on the next question, a small frown on his face from concentration.

It was a little while before Kyouya came back, a small maid following with a tray of drinks and cookies. She quietly placed them on the table just out of Kaoru's reach, bowed low and backed out of the room. Kyouya smacked his hand away as he tried to reach for a cookie, but placed a tall glass of orange juice in front of him.

"Finish those questions and you can have one," he smirked, taking a bite of his own cookie.

"I thought you didn't like sweet things like cookies," Kaoru remarked, tilting his head in curiosity.

"I don't, these ones are fruit and cinnamon," Kyouya explained, taking another small bite. Kaoru expression morphed into one of understanding, then disgust. "Don't worry, I got chocolate ones for you," Kyouya muttered, going back to typing on his laptop.

A grin covered the younger's face and he went back to working on his questions, more enthusiastically now he had a goal and something to work for.

What he didn't notice was the small, yet quick smile that graced the dark-haired boy's features as he bent over his work.

* * *

It was several hours later and Kaoru was happily munching on his fourth chocolate chip cookie as they looked over the final costume designs for the next host event. Paper was scattered over the table, a mixture of photo's of half finished costumes and rough pencil sketches of each of the host club wearing their costumes.

Kaoru had to fight down a involuntary blush as Kyouya picked up a particularly detailed one of him, watching his expression in silence, the only sound was the crunch of the cookie as the redhead nervously nibbled at it.

Nothing.

Kyouya put down the picture with nothing but a nod. Kaoru bit back a sigh, resting his chin on interlinked fingers.

"What?" Kyouya asked, not looking up from the pictures.

Kaoru started, sitting up with wide eyes. "What do you mean?"

"That sigh," Kyouya explained, still not looking up, instead picking up another image, one of the photo's of his own unfinished costume. His eyes widened a little at the amount of care and detail put into the design, all the small details, slightly incomplete, but intricate and carefully sewn.

"What sigh?"

Kyouya was just about to answer, when Kaoru's phone began to ring. Saved by the bell!

Pulling the small object out of his pocket, a quick glance told him it was Hikaru, and he had to fight back an eye roll. Most likely he forgot-

"KAORU! Where are you?"

Of course. Kaoru scowled, covering the mouth piece to tell Kyouya he was going to take it outside.

"What do you mean, 'where am I'?" He asked once he stepped outside the room and wandered down the hall slightly, out of earshot, "I told you three times, I've gone to Kyouya's so he can help me study!"

"Well, you never told me," Hikaru said indignantly, and Kaoru could already see him putting his nose in the air, starting to get defensive.

"Do you ever listen to a word I say? Yes, I did, I told you yesterday, when we were with Haruhi, this morning and then just before I left, but you obviously weren't paying attention to me at all." Absolute silence came from the other end of the line. Kaoru inwardly growled. '_Well, say something!'_

"Oh."

Kaoru sighed, letting his shoulders drop in defeat. "Hikaru, while I understand that you may be slightly distracted by Haruhi, and video games it would appear, please do try to pay attention to the world around you, it usually helps in situations like this."

"Right, yeah," Hikaru mumbled, not sounding at all sorry for himself, and Kaoru could hear the sounds of their latest video game in the background. Audibly growling this time, Kaoru snapped the phone shut, ending the call, and slumped against the wall.

'_What happened to us Hikaru?_' he couldn't help but ask himself, shutting his eyes in frustration. He smiled bitterly, pushing himself off the wall and back into Kyouya's spacious room.

Kyouya glanced up as the younger boy walked in, a flash of worry flickering in his eyes as he took in the boy's dejected face as he slumped on one of the long sofa's.

"Hikaru?" He asked, frowning as Kaoru nodded. "You can vent if you want to, I'll listen."

Kaoru sat there for a few moments, too shocked to move, eyes wide. Kyouya was actually offering to help!

"I can't promise I will be able to help you, but if you need to talk to someone, I'm here to listen," the older boy continued with a shrug.

Kaoru's shock quickly wore off, and little by little, the floodgates opened. It started small, the denial, self-blame coming through first.

"I suppose it's nothing really, just my imagining things. But ever since-" he hiccupped, forcing back the tears that were threatening to fall, "ever since she joined, it's like we've been falling apart, and I just don't know what to do. He's been paying so much attention to her, and hasn't noticed anything about my life. Hasn't taken an interest in what I'm doing. Usually it's because we're on the same wavelength and he already knows. But he didn't even know I was here tonight! Even though I've told him three times."

A lone tear slid down his cheek, out of both sadness and frustration.

"You're growing up," Kyouya said simply, "growing apart can be a part of that."

Kaoru looked up, staring at the older boy with wide, watery eyes. His face was questioning, silently asking 'why? How do you know that?'

"I was the same way with my brothers," Kyouya began, "we used to be close, despite being a few years older than me. Akito particularly. But then, they grew up, finished school, began to follow father's footsteps, and now it's like I don't even know them anymore."

"I-I never knew," Kaoru breathed, eyes wide, "but Hikaru-"

"Will probably go back to the way he was, given time," Kyouya interrupted, taking a small sip of his drink.

Silence fell over the pair for a short while, both lost in their thoughts. Memories washed over them both, of times long passed.

Kaoru eventually broke the silence, setting down his drink gently.

"I don't blame her you know? Haruhi that is," he said softly, leaning back and staring at the ceiling, "I've always wanted Hikaru to move forward, to grow up, but I never thought he'd be leaving me behind."

Kyouya as silent at that, quietly studying the redhead. The boy suddenly looked so much smaller, so much more breakable, hands between his knees, staring at the floor with tears in his eyes. It was a vulnerable side to the Hitachiin very rarely seen by others. Despite being more soft-spoken, the younger of the twins still had overflowing confidence, but not even Kyouya had realised he had this little confidence in himself and his own abilities. It was a surprising realisation.

"Sorry about all this," Kaoru suddenly said, turning his head to look out the window at the dark sky, "I come over to study, and end up breaking down. Sorry I'm such a mess," he gave a slightly forced chuckle, before giving a high-pitched hiccup.

"You needed to let it out, better here than in the middle of club," Kyouya said nonchalantly, gathering up the photo's and sketches and slipping them back into the plastic folder, "however if you don't feel up to facing your brother tonight, you are more than welcome to one of our spare rooms and a spare pair of night clothes."

Kaoru stopped staring out the window, turning to face the older boy with wide eyes.

"Don't look so surprised, you may find I am generous on occasion," Kyouya said with a smirk.

Kaoru flipped open his phone, finding several worried messages from his brother, with a deep sigh, he nodded, "thanks a lot, that'll be great, if it's not too much trouble." It was true, he really couldn't stand the thought of having to face his brother tonight, lack of sleep was beginning to get the better of him, making him more emotional than usual. One wrong turn and he might say some things he will definitely regret later.

"Not at all, I'll tell the maids to prepare you a room," Kyouya said, standing to alert his personal maids.

* * *

The next morning was an awkward one.

To start Kaoru overslept, starting awake when one of the maids came to check on him around eleven thirty, only to find that Kyouya had gone for lunch with an important client under his father's order. So after a lonely brunch he gathered his things and quickly left, leaving a note for Kyouya, thanking him for the night before and for lending him a room for the night.

When he got home, he found Hikaru had gone out, apparently to see (Read: harass) Haruhi.

With a deep sigh he flopped on the sofa, closing his eyes in an attempt to block out the world for a few moments. Now what? No Hikaru, meaning he had no idea what to do. Homework was all done, it was a Sunday so there was probably nothing on TV to watch, he didn't really feel like drawing. Sure he had the costumes to finish, but he had been working on those all week and needed a well-earned break before the final stretch to finish them.

"How did it go last night?" his mother asked, suddenly appearing next to him, startling him slightly. She handed him a mug of steaming coffee "Got anywhere with your little 'mission' yet?" she continued with a smirk and a wink.

Kaoru sighed, taking the mug, "nope, he's a hard one to crack," he said glumly, "but I've only had one shot so far, I can hardly give up now," he gave a small smile, eyes determined.

"That's the spirit," Yuzuha grinned, ruffling her son's red hair, "now, I wanted to ask you if you would like to come to this fashion show tonight, it's sort of a last minute thing, but I hear there'll be a lot of big names there, including a few of my own pieces on the catwalk," she smirked.

Kaoru paused his drink halfway to his mouth, looking at his mother's smirk out of the corner of his eye. There was definitely something suspicious about that smirk, it was the same one the twins wore when they were trying out a new scheme or trying to pull one over on someone. But even so, better to humour her than get moaned at, and then spend the evening alone or with Hikaru mooning over Haruhi.

"Sure," he said, sipping at his coffee, "why not?"

* * *

Oh, that was why.

Kaoru quickly ducked behind a really tall man, attempting to avoid Kyouya's cool gaze that was sweeping the room.

Once again, his mother materialised next to him, scaring the life out of the poor redhead. Breathing hard, he glared, face pulled into a deep scowl.

"You knew," he said simply, crossing his arms.

"Knew what sweetie?" Yuzuha asked innocently, though the Cheshire cat grin gave her away, "I see your friend Kyouya Ootori is here, why don't you go and see him, I have a couple of deals to make. I'll see you in a little while dear." And with that, along with a little wave she vanished into the crowd.

Kaoru grimaced, turning to face the crowds, a little apprehensive.

"Kaoru Hitachiin, I suppose I should have expected to see you here."

Kaoru spun around at the voice, almost shocked to see Kyouya standing there with two champagne glasses in his hands. He handed one to the speechless Hitachiin. "It's champagne and orange juice."

"Th-thanks," Kaoru smiled, taking the tall glass, "I wasn't expecting to see you however, I mean, it's a fashion show, I didn't think this was in your family's interest."

"And what makes you think I'm here for business?" Kyouya asked, smirking at the way Kaoru stuttered an apology, "Don't worry, I'm here because your mother called to keep you company, and I always jump at an opportunity to possibly meet future clients, and possibly make a deal or two."

Kaoru stared at him, mouth open slightly in shock and amazement, before glaring in the general direction he could hear his mother's laugh from. Oh, when they got home...

"Apparently Hunny-Sempai and Mori-Sempai are both busy with training, and Tamaki and your brother are both out harassing Haruhi, so she called me last minute to come and keep you company while she organised her set for tonight and spoke with clients," Kyouya explained fully.

Kaoru rolled his eyes, a small smile appearing on his face, against his will he would argue, and took a sip of his drink. "Shall we take a seat then, I believe the show is about to start," he said, gesturing to a couple of seats reserved in the front row. They were reserved for Yuzuha and Kaoru, however the young redhead could see his mother grinning and pointing at the two chairs, giving a thumbs up signal. Kaoru resisted the urge to sigh, sitting down.

"I think she'll be busy with her set for the show, so I doubt she'll mind you taking her seat," Kaoru smiled, slightly forced, as the lights went down.

"Of course," Kyouya said, taking the empty seat next to him, "Now, fashion is something I do know a little about, but only the major brands, if you could explain a little I would be quite grateful."

Kaoru stared at him, surprised at such a question. If you could call it that. When it came to Kyouya, every question he asked he managed to make sound like a demand. "S-sure."

And as each designer began to show their work, Kaoru whispered a detailed explanation as to who they are, particular styles, and his analysis of their work. Which was always fairly critical, being a designer himself.

Kyouya watched, nodding along as Kaoru told him everything, which he silently locked away for possible future use. Be prepared for anything.

However, by the time they got halfway through the show, it hit Kyouya that he hadn't seen any of the last two designer's pieces, he was so focused of Kaoru and what he was saying. Three quarters of the way through and he realised it wasn't what he was saying at all.

It was just Kaoru.

The young redhead fascinated him no doubt, his almost split personality, the calm and caring, and the devilish and manipulative side, and his relationship with his brother was definitely interesting, but what was that fluttering feeling in his stomach? And he most certainly had a soft smile on his face, which he hadn't realised was there. He turned and focused on the show, still listening to everything Kaoru was saying, but trying not to watch the young Hitachiin, to not let his enthusiasm and liveliness affect him quite so much.

"I think this is the last one," Kaoru was saying as they reached the end, "oh, it's Alexander McQueen's new line. Not him exactly, he died last year, but I think Sarah Burton is continuing the brand, so I suppose it's both of them really. Such a shame, I did love his work."

"Yes, I heard about that," Kyouya said. It's said the twins wore black for a week after the great designers death, though he never saw them himself, so this may have just been a rumour.

The show finished not long after, but the pair didn't get up, instead choosing to stay seated and carry on their discussion, which soon turned into a simple friendly chat, about general things, such as school, home life, how the business is going. The usual.

Kaoru studied the older boy's face out of the corner of his eye while animatedly explaining the inner workings of his own fashion designs, his influences, inspirations and style. He almost, _almost _faltered when he caught a glimpse of a small miracle.

A smile.

A small, would-miss-it-if-you-weren't-paying-attention smile! He turned slightly, trying to look inconspicuous as he continued his explanation, though inside his mind he was doing a happy dance.

"Hey sweetie," Yuzuha suddenly appeared, placing a small kiss on the top of his head, "you ready to go? They're going to close up in a bit." Kaoru looked around in amazement, seeing that indeed, the cleaner's were out, sweeping up and cleaning, with only a few guests left milling about, still chatting to one another. He hadn't realised it was so late.

"Yeah, I'm ready," he said in a sort of dazed voice, before snapping out of it and grinning up at his mother.

Kyouya's expression had gone back to the fake, polite smile, and Kaoru had to fight back a frown, but on closer inspection, he could see that hint of truthful happiness hidden in his dark eyes.

"Sorry if I kept you up late Kyouya-sempai," he said, "I didn't realise."

"No matter, I would usually still be up anyhow," Kyouya said with that polite smile, "I would rather be here than balancing accounts at home. Besides, the fault is also mine, I lost track of the time."

* * *

"Well?" Yuzuha asked once they had waved Kyouya off and climbed into their own limo.

"Well what?" Kaoru returned with a wide grin. His eyes obviously said it all, as Yuzuha reached over and ruffled his hair, again, causing him to scowl briefly, before returning to his happy face.

"Well done sweetie, I knew it wouldn't take much," she said, grinning herself, "you know, he's probably been doing it a lot while you weren't looking," she continued airily, the smug smirk clear on her face.

Kaoru smiled, and couldn't help leaning over and giving her a tight hug, which she happily returned.

"Thanks for making me come tonight."

Yuzuha gave her son one last squeeze, glad to see someone was making him happy again, she'd been so worried about him over the past couple of months.

"You're welcome honey."

* * *

**A/N: Oh my gosh..look, I've actually Updated...I'm sooooo sorry for this being so late. Exams, end of college celebrations and work all took over for a while and I wasn't able to write. That and I was being a little lazy, for which I have no excuse for. I'm sorry. But here it is now, better late than never :) Lots of fluff. I just have one question for those who actually read this A/N, what would you prefer, longer chapters with slightly larger gaps or shorter, more regular chapters? Either way is good, i have plenty of spare time now I have no college for a year before university, so I should get this done :)**

**Hope you enjoyed, do review and tell me what you think, good or bad :)  
**


	5. What about Hikaru?

**A/N: I think I owe everyone an apology...I'M SORRY *grovels* I am very very sorry. I know this hasn't been updated in months, and I really have no excuse, especially since I have no college and I'm not going to University until next year. Recently (i.e. the past several months) my muse decided to go on holiday, my inspiration decided to vanish and I simply forgot all about writing for a while. You probably all think I died or something. However, I'm back now, and I have so many new ideas to put onto paper, so hold tight, I will be back properly very soon :)**

* * *

The next week was a confusing one for both Kyouya and Kaoru.

Kaoru spent most of his time talking to Haruhi, and on occasion, Kyouya, finishing the costumes for the next cosplay and trying to figure out why it seemed like Hikaru was mad at him.

"Well, a small smile is a start at any rate," Haruhi said, grinning as they sat on one of the long couches in the third music room, waiting for Tamaki and Hikaru to finish their bickering, "the question is, where do you go from there?" she asked, casting a quick glance over at the second year in question, who was typing away on his laptop. As usual.

"I'm not sure to be honest," Kaoru shrugged, sinking back into soft pillows as he sat back. "I'm not going to stop, that's for sure, but I'm still trying to work out why."

"Why what?"

"Was it me, or something else?"

"Well, there's only one way to find out," Haruhi smirked, with a glance over at Kyouya, who was still typing, but seemed to be referring to papers surrounding him.

"Indeed there is," Kaoru grinned. But that grin quickly fell off his face as he cast his eyes over his brother, who was had a smug grin on his face as Tamaki spluttered and stuttered, red faced as he very obviously lost the argument. "Say, Haruhi, do you have any idea why Hikaru would be mad at me?"

"Mad at you? Hikaru?" Haruhi looked rather confused.

"I'll take that as a no," Kaoru sighed, looking downcast.

"Well, he did mention something on Sunday, something about you not telling him about studying at Kyouya-Sempai's, but even I remember you telling him that," she panicked slightly when Kaoru looked even more miserable, "But personally I just think he doesn't like being wrong, remembers and is pretending not to," she sent a quick glare in the older twin's direction.

Which was when something caught her eye. Or more someone.

Kyouya's expression. There was definitely something about it. He looked...worried. And she could see, even with the light reflecting off his glasses, his dark eyes constantly glancing in their direction. It couldn't be that he was worried about Kaoru? Could it? Her eyes flicked back to the redhead, who was now leaning against the armrest with his knees pulled to his chest, looking rather thoughtful and depressed at the same time. Well, it wasn't like he would be wrong to worry about him, she was worried too, but it was a little surprising.

What exactly happened over the weekend?

"Why don't you try talking to him?" she suggested.

"Tried, he keeps changing the subject, or just ignoring me completely," he sighed, dropping his head back to stare at the ceiling. "The only times I ever see him anymore are in class, during dinner and when we go to sleep."

"Maybe he's jealous," Haruhi suggested, still sneaking glances at Kyouya, who, by this point, had gone back to his papers, but still casting small glances in their direction every few minutes, and small glares in Hikaru's every other minute or so.

Maybe Hikaru **was** jealous, Haruhi suddenly thought. She had just thrown the idea in to keep Kaoru distracted and make sure he didn't blame himself, but the more she thought about the idea, the more it made sense. But the main question was, who was he jealous of?

It could be because Kaoru was spending so much time with her, they were close friends and had spent a lot of time together recently. She knew of Hikaru's apparent feelings for her, though whether they were genuine or just because she was the first to penetrate their world she didn't know just yet. Either way, he wasn't really her type. Sure, she was beginning to embrace the crazy and had grown to love each and every one of the host club, but if she was going to get together with _anyone_, they would have to have some similar interests, and preferably be less loud. Which if Hikaru had figured out, may mean his little brother was on his suspect list for her affections.

However, it may also be because of Kyouya. Hikaru knew Kaoru was spending a lot of time with the senior recently, and maybe, just maybe, he was scared he was losing his baby brother to the shadow king. Which could have been a scary and possibly frightening prospect if Haruhi hadn't seen the affection and worry for the younger in Kyouya's expression.

Whatever the case, the duo that was Hikaru and Kaoru was beginning to fall apart, and not in a good way. And she was going to do something about it!

And the others were going to help. Whether they liked it or not.

* * *

"So what do you expect us to do?" Tamaki asked several hours later as he, Hunny and Mori met together at Haruhi's home. "Isn't it good their expanding their world and talking with other people, seperately?"

"Not at the cost of each other," Haruhi said firmly, "Yes it's true it's good they're doing things without the other, but they're falling apart badly, Kaoru's worked himself up into a bit of a state because Hikaru's ignoring him, and Hikaru's being...well, Hikaru," she shrugged, "insensitive and completely unobservant." Silence followed.

"Hika-chan and Kao-chan can't work without each other in their lives somehow," Hunny spoke up, looking serious, "even if they can't be as close as they used to be, they need each other to survive." The group looked thoughtful at this. They all knew he had a point, but they didn't know how to fix it.

"They need to talk it out," Mori said, breaking the second round of silence.

"I know," Haruhi said, sighing, "but Hikaru's too proud and stubborn to even admit there's a problem, much less talk about it, I've tried, Kaoru's tried, but he just won't talk."

"We could simply lock them in a room until they have to talk," Tamaki suggested, "you said that every time Kaoru has tried to talk to him he's walked away, but what if he couldn't walk? What if he had to face the facts and actually talk to his brother?"

There was a moment of silence, before Hunny spoke. "That could actually work," he said, a small smile. Haruhi however, looked uncertain.

"It could work," she said tentatively, fiddling with the hem of her shirt, "but it can also go the other way, it may ruin things further, you know how stubborn Hikaru can be."

"But it's better than sitting here doing nothing," Tamaki pointed out. Haruhi, against her better judgements and the voice in the back of her head, had to agree.

* * *

It was another week before they were able to put their plan into action, and in that time, that short of time, Haruhi began to witness something she would tell others later as beautiful.

Ever since that day two weeks prior she watched as Kaoru and Kyouya got closer and closer, spending more and more time with each other.

It started on the Monday, two days before the cosplay event was meant to take place, and Kaoru had begun to fuss and panic that he wasn't going to get things done in time, or that he hadn't got the measurements right and things weren't going to fit. So they had all trooped over for final fittings to put the young designer's mind at rest.

Funnily enough, Kyouya was the one to help the most. The others tried, and failed, miserably. Hunny just seemed like he was trying too hard, and stressed him out further, Mori was his usual silent self, and although that calmed him down a little, Hunny's attempts cancelled that out. Tamaki was being too much of an idiot to calm the poor redhead down, and Haruhi was trying to get the blonde to focus and organise everyone else, thus not being able to concentrate on the designs and costumes. That and she didn't particularly want to be there. And Hikaru was nowhere to be seen. Which seemed to be what Kaoru was freaking out about the most

With a loud sigh, Kaoru dropped his head to his desk, rubbing his temples, paper and fabric surrounding him.

Haruhi saw this as a good sign to herd the idiots out of the room for a few moments to allow him a chance to gather his thoughts and calm down. She took them far enough down the corridor that their noise wouldn't reach the design studio, before leaving them there and going back to talk to Kaoru.

However she was beaten to it, by none other than the shadow king.

Silently, she stood in the doorway, watching as Kyouya handed over a steaming cup of tea, and Kaoru gratefully took it, his smile tired and weary but his eyes shining with happiness and thanks. As he turned to drink it, Haruhi caught a glimpse of a small, caring smile etched on the shadow king's face.

Grinning, Haruhi turned and headed back towards the idiots, who, by the time she got there, had one more added to their ranks.

"Hikaru!" Haruhi snapped, suddenly furious, "Where the heck have you been?"

The redhead simply looked confused, "In my room, playing a game."

"Playing a game," Haruhi repeated slowly, "while your brother has been stressing himself out all morning because you weren't where you should be," she fumed, "you're lucky Kyouya Sempai knows how to deal with a headache."

"The shadow King's in there?" Hikaru asked, blinking in surprise.

"Yes, Now I suggest we all get in there, quietly, and let Kaoru do these costume fittings so we can all go home and leave him in peace!" Haruhi ordered, pointing back down the corridor.

"Now, now my darling daughter, as King of the host club, I think I should be the one to give the or-"

"NOW!"

"Yes sir." Tamaki whimpered, shrinking back and scuttling down the hall.

Smirking, Haruhi watched them all troop down the corridor, before following, eager find see the redhead and tell him of her findings.

* * *

But she never got the chance, and by Wednesday she had made the decision to watch how it works out before breathing a word to anyone, even Kaoru. Interference might stop this, whatever it was, in its tracks.

"But I never got a choice!" Hikaru was saying as his brother forced his costume on him.

"You didn't want to help, therefore you don't get a choice," Kaoru said calmly as he tied Hunny's red cape around the small third-year's neck. "At least you don't have to play the girl," he finished bitterly under his breath, smoothing down his long skirt.

"But I don't want to play Hansel and Gretel, I barely know the story, how am I meant to act if I don't know the story?" Hikaru protested, but Kaoru paid no mind, moving to fix up the hem on Kyouya's jacket which had come loose because of his rush to finish the costumes in time.

"I gave you the book to read, so if you had listened to a word I said, you should know the story by now, and if you don't, it's your own fault," Kaoru told him, putting several pins in his teeth as he started to sew the hem up with expert stitching.

"But I-"

"The book's on the table over there," Kyouya cut in calmly, but there was a clear hint of venom in his voice, "go and read it, quickly now." Hikaru got the point, empathised by the dark look in Kyouya's eyes, and darted away.

"Thanks Sempai," Kaoru smiled, taking the pins out of his mouth and finishing the stitch off, cutting off the remainder of the thread. "How did you know he wasn't going to read it? I've been trying to make him for weeks."

"It's Hikaru," Kyouya said simply, glancing in the direction of the older Hitachiin, who was flicking through the book far too fast for him to actually be reading it, "That and I brought all the fairytale books, including the ones we aren't using to spread around the room, it'll add to the atmosphere."

"Good plan," Kaoru said, pushing himself up from the cross-legged position he was in, brushing himself off. Taking a step backwards he looked Kyouya up and down. "Very nice," he grinned, "if I do say so myself."

"I agree," Kyouya said, looking in the long mirror on the wall nearby, "you've done a good job."

"Thank you," Kaoru smiled, stepping into the mirror as well to admire his own costume, which was a Lolita styled dress, with a patched up apron and a long skirt. "I don't suppose you could give me a hand with wig could you? Hikaru's somewhat indisposed right now," He asked, glancing over to his brother, who was staring off into space by this point. "Hikaru! If you don't know that story back to front by the time club starts I swear I will bury you in the back garden." The venom in his voice alone was enough to get Hikaru to stick his nose in the book.


	6. Coming To A Decision

"Hikaru?" Kaoru's voice was soft as he slowly pushed open the door to their shared room, a mug of steaming hot tea in each hand. He knew his brother was mad at him for one reason or another, and that fact was really beginning to get to him. But the thing that was really bugging the younger of the twins was that he had no idea what his brother was thinking.

"Hmm," the noise was faint, but Kaoru could easily tell where it was coming from. Careful not to spill any of the tea, Kaoru made his way over to the middle door in the centre of a wall of wardrobe space. Gently placing his own mug of tea on the desk nearby, he firmly pulled the door open, almost sighing out loud at the sight that met his eyes.

Hikaru was sitting cross-legged with his back against the wall, laptop balanced on his knees and a look of pure concentration on his face.

"What?" he asked impatiently, not even bothering to look up from whatever it was he was doing.

Kaoru scowled, unimpressed by his brothers somewhat pathetic display. He set the mug down on the floor close by, reached down, and in one fluid motion pulled the power cable and yanked the laptop away, before picking up the mug and shoving it into Hikaru's now empty hands.

Hikaru looked up at him with a look of shock and horror as he heard sounds of his character dying in whatever game he was playing. But that look quickly melted into one of worry and nervousness at the expression on his little brother's face.

Kaoru grabbed his mug from the side, the herbal scent the only thing keeping him sane and crouched down, carefully crawling into the wardrobe and closing the door behind him, something they would do as children when they wanted to get away from the world.

As soon as he was comfortable in the narrow space, a space his long legs wouldn't quite fit into properly now they were older, he turned to Hikaru, despite barely being able to see him, who was still looking a little worried, though the expression of shock had returned somewhat.

"Talk to me," Kaoru demanded, his voice firm and unwavering.

"T-talk? About what?" Hikaru asked, his voice cracking a little at the beginning, but quickly pulling himself together.

"Why you've been treating me like I'm suddenly invisible to you? Like I'm all of a sudden a stranger?" Kaoru asked, a slight bitterness creeping into his voice near the end, "I don't understand what I did," he added, much softer.

Hikaru had no idea what to say, fearing whatever he told him would make the situation worse.

Thick silence fell over them, Kaoru eventually turning his intense gaze away to stare into his tea once he realised nothing was happening.

They stayed in silence for a long while, Hikaru avoiding Kaoru's glances as they sat in the dark.

Eventually Kaoru sighed, looking into his empty mug as he pushed the door open with his foot, crawling back out into the evening light. He turned to Hikaru, who was now staring up at his brother with wide eyes.

"Think it over okay?" Kaoru told him, "I don't know what's gotten into you recently, but I don't like it, I just want my brother back."

And with that, he closed the door, leaving the room, his walk much slower and less determined than when he entered.

* * *

"It's time to stage an intervention!"

Hunny almost jumped out of his seat when Haruhi stormed over the next day, slamming her hands down on the table he and Mori were sat at. Club was over for that day, and everyone else had gone home, Hunny and Mori only hanging around because Haruhi had told them she wanted to talk to them.

"What?" the small senior asked, looking wide eyed up at her.

"Hikaru and Kaoru," she said, "I don't know what happened, but they've gotten worse, and now Kaoru won't talk to anyone, and Hikaru's being more of an idiot than usual with Tamaki, and he won't do anything about what's going on," she fumed, "I know Kaoru's tried, he told me he was going to talk to him, but it seems to have made things much worse."

"That is a problem," Hunny said, frowning, his happy-go-lucky persona falling away quickly as Haruhi explained, "But something's telling me that's not the only thing you want to intervene in." He smiled innocently, causing Haruhi to splutter and stutter in surprise.

"N-no, that's n-not what I-, I-I mean, I-" She stopped, scowling. They knew. There was no way around it. "Alright, so I kind of maybe want to do something about Kyouya and Kaoru, maybe to, you know, push them in the right direction."

Hunny grinned, "But first things first, we need to figure out what is going on with Hika-chan and Kao-chan," he said, turning to Mori, who nodded, "What do you think Haru-chan?"

Haruhi sighed, sitting down and resting her chin on her hand, "Honestly? It could be one of several things," she sighed, "It might have something to do with me and Kaoru being friends, I know he likes me and is probably just jealous or something that his own brother is spending so much time with me."

"Do you like him?" Hunny asked.

"Which one?"

"Both."

"Kaoru's a really good friend, I love talking to him, but I just don't see him in a romantic way, and Hikaru..." she trailed off, "Well, Hikaru's an idiot, and far too loud for my tastes, he's a friend, nothing more."

"So maybe you should let him know," Hunny suggested, "clear the air, let him move on to someone else, and maybe he won't feel so jealous of Kaoru," he smiled softly, "what else could it be?"

"Well, I'm thinking it might have something to do with Kaoru and Kyouya, I know they've been getting close recently, and I'm not sure how happy Hikaru is about it all," she frowned, thinking hard. She knew there was something of a spark forming between the shadow king and the redhead, and she knew something had to be done about it, but if that is what was bugging Hikaru she didn't want to ruin their relationship.

"If that's the case, then it's definitely a situation that needs to be handled delicately," Hunny pointed out, looking thoughtful, "Hika-chan needs to get to a point where he can accept that Kao-chan and Kyou-chan are happy together, and then we need to make _them_ realise that they're happy together."

"Any suggestions?" Haruhi asked hopefully. The three were silent for several moments.

"Not at the moment," Hunny said eventually, looking expectantly at the other two. Haruhi simply shook her head, looking crestfallen. Mori however, had a thoughtful look on his usually stoic face.

"We watch," he said, "and see how things play out, if things get worse, then we'll interfere."

Haruhi sighed heavily, slumping in her chair.

"I suppose at this point it's all we can do," she said, her expression slightly disappointed that she couldn't do anything for her friends. The most they could do was silently encourage them in the right direction.

* * *

Hikaru sighed heavily as he slumped over the breakfast bar the next morning, tired and miserable.

What was he doing? He barely knew himself why he was practically ignoring his own twin. He knew it was something to do with seeing him and Haruhi together so often, and him with Kyouya too. Some underlying part of him was insanely jealous, and Hikaru was letting that part of him, against his more rational side, take over, turning him into a horrible brother and an even worse friend. Kaoru was right, he wasn't himself, and he just needed time to think over his life, what was bothering him, and sort it out.

"Hikaru?" He looked up at his mother's concerned voice from the doorway. Hikaru turned away, burying the lower half of his face in the crook of his arm, avoiding her gaze. "Hikaru? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he replied, his voice muffled by his arm. He felt her sit down next to him and a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Now I know that's not true," she told him gently, her voice soft, "has this got anything to do with Kaoru?"

"Maybe," Hikaru mumbled, burying his face deeper into his arm.

Yuzuha smiled, getting through to Hikaru and making him talk was like getting blood out of a rock and a task that only got harder as he got older. Kaoru however, always seemed closer to her than his brother, and opened up far quicker. She just had to ask the right questions.

"Alright, Kaoru and Haruhi, or Kaoru and Kyouya?" She asked, knowing that both would be likely to get under Hikaru's skin.

Hikaru was silent, refusing to turn and face her, to face his problems, happy to hide behind his jokes and games. Yuzuha sighed, determined to get him to talk before he had to get to school.

"Talk to me honey, I can't help if you don't tell me what's wrong," she said, her tone gentle yet forceful.

"Maybe I don't want your help," Hikaru said, finally sitting up and turning to face her. He immediately regretted it at the look on her face, a mixture of hurt and disappointment, and, if he looked deep enough, understanding. "I-um-I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean...I just..." He trailed off, expression dropping into one of emotional pain and he slumped back over the table.

"It's alright sweetie, I think it's time you talked to your brother, he seems to be struggling with the fact you're not talking to him," she said softly, rubbing his back motherly, "whatever seems to be the problem, I'm sure you can sort it out if you just talk everything out with him, and soon, the tension in this house is so thick you could cut it with a knife."

Hikaru nodded, a slight gesture that was barely noticeable unless you were looking for it. Thankfully, Yuzuha was. She smiled, moving to get up when Kaoru, still sleepy and gripping his shoulder walked into the room, immediately halting when he saw his mother and brother.

He steeled himself, a motion that was instantly noticeable to Yuzuha as he stood a little taller, became a bit stiffer and took slower, more tentative steps into the room.

"Morning Kaoru," she said with a warm, yet concerned smile, "is your shoulder okay?"

"I don't know, it really hurts to move my arm," he said, wincing a little as he tried to move a few fingers.

Hikaru looked up at this point, worried and a little guilty. He knew all too well about his recent tendency to boot his brother out of bed while he slept, and he certainly knew that if Kaoru had hurt his shoulder, that was the most likely cause.

Yuzuha immediately began fussing over him mentioning seeing a doctor, missing school that day, and that something might be fractured, or at the very least sprained.

"Mother, stop fussing," Kaoru said, sitting down a few seats down from Hikaru, "I'm sure it's fine, I just fell out of bed during the night, nothing serious, I just thought it was a bruise and that I'll wait until morning to see how it feels, it's probably nothing, just a little stiff."

"You're still seeing the doctor," Yuzuha told him, her voice firm.

"Alright," Kaoru sighed. Silence followed, slightly awkward as the brothers looked at each other, both knowing exactly how Kaoru had hurt himself. Kaoru took a deep breath, aware that what he was about to say could make or break his relationship with Hikaru. Either way he had to do it.

"Um, I've come to a decision about something," he announced, getting the room's attention as both looked at him expectantly, "I've decided I want to move into the room on the third floor, the one next to the atelier," he took another deep breath at the expression on Hikaru's face, "alone."

* * *

**A/N: Oh my gosh, you have no idea how sorry I am about not updating this in so long *grovels on the floor*. I went through a really messy breakup just before Christmas, and I simply couldn't bear to continue writing a romance fiction of all things. Between that, Christmas and Work I simply didn't have the time nor the inclination to keep writing. I'm getting over it now, so hopefully I'll be able to pick this up where I left off, there's only a few chapters left to go now, so in-between writing 'Flying Home' I'll keep writing on this and hopefully have it done by the summer :) **

**Sorry if this seems a little rushed and a bit short, I'm not a huge fan of it personally and will probably go over it and make a few changes when I have the time. This is just to say that IASWAPH is still going and I haven't died or anything XD Enjoy and any and all opinions are welcome :)**


	7. A Trip to the Hospital

"Hmm, that doesn't look good," Yuzuha murmured as she sat in the car with her youngest, examining his now swollen shoulder with concerned eyes. Kaoru just stared out the window, his expression thoughtful.

'_I can't believe I just did that,'_ he thought, blocking out his mothers constant muttering with his own inner monologue, '_his face, he looked so hurt,'_ he paused, flinching a little as Yuzuha poked at his shoulder. He did nothing but cast a weak glare back at her before resuming his thoughts. '_But then, it has to be done, I need my own space and so does he, and it has been rather awkward the past week or so, maybe this is the best action to take. Hopefully it will spur him into actually talking to me about what's going on."_

"Kaoru?" Yuzuha pulled him out of his reflection, her expression one of extreme concern. He turned to her, a small frown pulling the corners of his lips down, his whole expression downcast and dejected. "Want to tell me what's going on with you and your brother?" She asked, her voice ever hopeful he might know what the problem was so she could do something to help.

Kaoru sighed. "I wish I knew," he muttered, looking back out the window, his expression miserable. He could feel his mother slump a little beside him, lost at what to do.

The rest of the journey was silent, Kaoru eventually gently leaning against his mother, resting his head on her shoulder.

* * *

"Kaoru?"

"What?" Kaoru spun around, wincing as a stab of pain shot through his shoulder. Standing behind him, dressed in a black smart-casual suit with an open collar, showing a nice amount of collarbone, was Kyouya, eyebrows raised. He looked at the redhead questioningly, still managing to look as cool as ice. Kaoru blushed a little under his gaze, holding his arm a little tighter. "Kyouya-sempai, what are you doing here?"

"This is one of my family's hospitals," the older boy replied, "I have a few business things to settle here this morning," he explained, "I'm more concerned with what you are doing here."

"Fell out of bed," Kaoru shrugged his good shoulder, "hurt my shoulder, figured I should get it checked out."

"Kaoru honey, you're checked in, but there's a twenty minute wait," Yuzuha called, walking over from the desk nearby, "oh, hello Kyouya darling, I wasn't expecting you here."

"Business," Kyouya said with a polite nod of his head, "Always nice to see you Hitachiin-sama. If you don't want to wait, I've just finished and have an hour until my next meeting, I don't mind giving you a check up myself. I've taken the liberty of learning about the medical side of my family's company, as well as the business side of things."

"Oh, no, I wouldn't want to-" Kaoru started, shaking his head and avoiding eye contact, but Yuzuha cut him off.

"That would be wonderful," she gushed, "so long as it's not too much trouble of course."

"It would be my pleasure," Kyouya said, giving a far too polite smile and gesturing for them to follow as he turned and headed down the corridor towards the lifts, telling one of his bodyguards to cancel Kaoru's original appointment. They took the lift to the top floor, where it was almost deserted, sparkling pristine white and silent. The private ward. Kyouya sent Yuzuha off with his guard to get a coffee so they could do the check-up in private.

"Shirt off," Kyouya said, taking off his jacket and rolling his sleeves up.

Kaoru complied, a faint blush dusting his cheeks as he un-buttoned his short-sleeved shirt and laid it down next to him as he sat on the surprisingly comfortable hospital bed. He unconsciously brushed his fingers over his bruised skin, biting his lip nervously.

"Now, fell off or kicked off?" Kyouya asked, moving to stand next to the redhead and began to examine his shoulder.

"What?" Kaoru looked over, wide-eyed. Kyouya pushed his chin away so he could start pressing his thumb gently on the bruise that had now spread halfway up his neck.

"You heard me, tell me when this starts to hurt," he ordered.

Kaoru sighed, not exactly wanting to turn his brother in, but knowing that he would probably work it out one way or another.

"Kicked off, and there, ow!" he winced as Kyouya pressed his thumb over a particularly sore spot. He heard the sound of teeth being clenched together and glanced over, resisting the urge to turn his head. The look on the older boy's face shocked him. He looked almost murderous, glaring daggers at the dark mark covering his shoulder.

"Alright," Kyouya started, taking a deep breath "I would say it's definitely fractured at least, but I'll sort you out with an x-ray just to be certain." He sat down at the desk across the room and began filling in a few forms, pen moving quickly and rigorously across the paper. Kaoru briefly wondered what had the boy so suddenly mad, but not seeing the obvious.

Kyouya helped him back into his shirt and tied a sling around the redhead's neck, gently moving his arm into a comfortable position inside the white cloth.

"There's a slot for an x-ray in twenty minutes," Kyouya said, "I've booked you in and I'll escort you to the waiting room myself, it's quite a maze."

Kaoru nodded mutely, chewing at his bottom lip. He couldn't work out why Kyouya was so angry all of a sudden.

Unless...

He couldn't be mad at Hikaru for kicking him off the bed, could he? He had to know it was an accident.

An accident that kept happening, but an accident all the same.

"Hey Kyouya-sempai?" he asked, almost surprised at the sound of his own voice leaving his mouth. He did not remember giving the order to talk.

The older boy looked up, expectant.

"Are you free this evening?"

'_What are you doing? Shut up!'_

Kyouya thought for a moment, "I don't have anything that requires my immediate attention, why?"

"Do you want to help me move?" Well, there was no backing out now, though he still had no idea where these words were coming from. "I'm moving into the room on the top floor, and there's a few pieces I don't trust my maids with, and I... well..." he trailed off, looking down at his shoulder with a wince.

There was brief moment of silence as Kyouya contemplated the request.

"You're moving rooms? Without Hikaru I assume?"

Kaoru couldn't help but grimace as Kyouya helped him stand and led him out the room.

"I'm guessing he didn't take it well?"

"No idea," Kaoru said with a sigh, "Mother rushed me to the hospital before I could see his reaction." It was a tiny lie, yes, but the redhead didn't exactly want to explain the hurt he had seen in his brother's expression, the betrayal in his eyes. It pained him to even think about it. This would be good for them, he knew it would, but he was finding it difficult to see that right now.

Maybe once he was settled in...

"I'd be happy to help." Kyouya's voice broke him out of his thoughts and he looked up in surprise, half expecting a 'but' that never came.

"Really?" He smiled wide, happy at the thought of spending more time with the older student. He liked the fact that they had grown closer over the weeks, Kyouya was beginning to trust him more and Kaoru was seeing this as more than just a quest to see him smile, but as a genuine friendship. He never would have imagined the shadow king to show an interest in him of all people, but it wasn't entirely unpleasant. At least he could have a decent conversation with him, which was more than Hikaru was giving right now.

"Sure, I finish at three, I'll come right over."

"Sounds great."

* * *

Or, you know, not.

Kaoru stood at the end of the corridor that that led to his room (_old_ room he had to remind himself) staring at the pile of boxes and bags that littered the hallway.

It would seem Hikaru got a little ahead of himself.

He glanced at his watch. Only twelve thirty and Kyouya wasn't due to arrive until around half-three. These boxes couldn't just stay in the hall, the only place he could put them was his new room.

"Should I ask?"

Kaoru whirled around at the voice.

"Dad! You're home!" he exclaimed, all bedroom and moving worries flying out the window as he threw his good arm around his father's neck in an awkward hug. The man hugged back with extreme care, noticing the sling around his son's neck. "How was your trip?"

"Fine, fine," the man waved the question off, still staring at the boxes in the hall, "I'm more interested in this," he waved a hand in the general direction of the mess, "and this," he pointed at the sling.

"I fell out of bed this morning," Kaoru explained, "fractured shoulder, but Kyouya-Sempai patched me up, and I'm moving out."

A shocked silence followed.

"Only upstairs," Kaoru clarified, chuckling a little as the raised eyebrows dropped. "Need my own space, and it's next to the atelier, so I'm not dragging my stuff up and down stairs all the time."

"That... makes sense," the older man said, "need a hand?"

Kaoru rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "well, Kyouya was meant to come over and help me pack up later, but it seems Hikaru beat him to it, and it can't stay out here, so yeah, I suppose I do."

His father seemed to sense the concern in his voice, "don't worry," he said with a smile, "we'll get the maids to help get the boxes up there, and your mother and I will make sure the important stuff doesn't get broken. Kyouya can help you unpack."

"Thanks."

"Just, talk to your brother, I don't think he's taking this well."

"Alright," Kaoru muttered.

_'If only he'd talk back.'_

* * *

"Hikaru! Open up!"

There was no answer.

Not that that was particularly surprising. His twin was most definitely sulking. He could hear the sounds of some video game from the other side of the door, so the boy was most certainly in there, just refusing to open the locked door.

Which was hardly much of a barrier.

With a sigh, Kaoru reached into his pocket and pulled out a bobby pin, kneeling on the ground and using it to fiddle with the lock for a few seconds, before the click told him it was now open.

He pushed the door, walking into a surprisingly dark room, the only light coming from the TV screen at the end of the room. Hikaru was slumped on a beanbag in front of it, dressed in sweatpants and an oversized hoodie.

"Care to explain?" Kaoru said, gesturing to the now empty hallway. Hikaru missed the gesture but understood all the same.

"You're moving out, I just helped," he murmured, not really paying attention.

"Why are you so pissed about this?" Kaoru asked, trying very hard not to get frustrated at the lack of enthusiasm from the end of the room. His brother mumbled something inaudible. "What?"

"You could have discussed this with me before," he muttered, slightly louder.

"We need our own space Hikaru," Kaoru tried to explain, "we've grown out of this," he waved an arm at the now half empty room, "well, I think I have at any rate, I need to have a room of my own, and somewhere I can sleep without being booted to the floor every other night. Which by the way, since you asked so worriedly, has broken my arm, thank you very much." His voice was dripping with sarcasm by the end.

Stubborn silence met his speech, and he almost growled in annoyance.

"Look, I have my reasons, I've made my choice, and you're just going to have to grow up and accept it."

Without another word, he stormed out the room and up to his new bedroom, muttering angrily to himself the whole way.

The younger Hitachiin had calmed down by the time Kyouya arrived, forgetting for a few hours that the older boy was even coming over.

"I see you've coped pretty well by yourself."

"Kyouya-sempai!" Kaoru exclaimed, jumping from the bed as the man in question stepped into the room through the open doorway, "I'm sorry, I should have called, there's not much left to do."

"It's no problem," Kyouya said, a hint of a smile playing on his lips, "how'd you get this done so quickly?"

Kaoru sighed, dropping back to the soft mattress. "Basically, Hikaru threw a hissy fit of epic proportions, and simply packed up all my stuff while I was at the hospital and chucked it into the hall, where it was kinda in the way, so we moved it all upstairs, then I got bored, so I just unpacked one box, but I got a little carried away." He gestured to the nearly furnished room.

"Not bad considering you've only got one arm," Kyouya pointed out with a smirk.

"I know!" Kaoru grinned, "I'm actually quite proud. But I'm sorry I dragged you all the way out here for nothing."

"You realise I didn't just come to help right?" Kyouya said slowly, looking at the younger boy with an unreadable look, "believe it or not, I do actually enjoy spending time with you."

"Seriously?"

Kyouya rolled his eyes, "despite what others may say, I don't actually have a heart made of stone," he chuckled a little at the raised eyebrow and growing smirk on Kaoru's face.

"Can I get that in writing?" he asked, trying not the laugh at the indignant look on Kyouya's face, "I'm not sure the others will believe me."

"Don't push your luck, you're already pretty high on my hit list, you don't want to move up now, do you?"

That wiped the smirk off Kaoru's face very quickly. The thing about Kyouya was that you could never tell if he was joking, it always sounded like a serious threat.

"Do you want to go to dinner?" Kyouya asked, quite out of the blue, and Kaoru almost had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't hearing things. Was Kyouya Ootori, the anti-social Shadow King himself, seriously asking him to dinner. Even though he knew they were only friends (he thought... maybe), it sounded a little like a date. Which of course it wasn't, but once the thought was there, it was hard to get rid of.

And strangely enough, if the butterflies in his stomach were anything to go by, the thought didn't sound quite as terrible as he imagined it would.

"That would be wonderful."

* * *

**LOOK! LOOK WHAT I JUST DID! I ACTUALLY UPDATED IT!**

**I was going through some of my old stuff on my computer this evening, and came across this. I started reading, for old times sake, and despite being horrified at my writing from almost three years ago, I couldn't help but get sucked back in, ideas, old and new, flooding in, and before I knew it, I was typing away at a pace I haven't seen myself do in months. I'm not sure what happened to this, it just kinda upped and died somewhere two years ago. I don't really have much of an excuse, but I will apologise, to those who followed this since it was a nothing but a prologue and to those who have continued to hit the follow and favourite button even long after I gave up. But I am now determined to finish, and even have a few solid ideas to work with.**

**So, quick update on my life I suppose, since my last update I have started University, dropped out of University, moved out of my parents home permanently, started another job (which is actually the same as my old one, just a different branch) and started a short course to be an air stewardess, and have an interview for an actual airline job on Thursday. It's all very exciting. And also means I'm rather busy most days, prep and all that, it's a pretty intense interview.**

**I will hopefully update soon, and do leave a review if you're still around, it would be nice to hear from you, and if you liked this newest addition. **


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